August 22/12 8:36 am - SpiderTech Into Top-10 at Colorado

At the end of another long, hard day of racing, Euser crossed the finish line in Crested Butte in eighth position, just 12 seconds behind stage winner Tejay Van Garderen (BMC Racing Team).

The race was animated by a day-long breakaway of 12 riders, who gained as much as seven minutes before being pulled back to just 40 seconds as the race reached the three kilometre climb to the finish line. Camilo Castiblanco (EPM-UNE Cycling Team) and Mathias Frank (BMC Racing Team) valiantly tried to hold off the peloton, but were caught about one kilometre from the line.

“The plan was to protect Lucas today and we knew that the whole race would come down to the last three kilometres with the very steep finishing climb into Crested Butte,” said team director Michael Carter. “Hugo (Houle), Ryan (Roth), Caleb (Fairly) and Brian (Vandborg) did a great job at positioning Lucas for the final five kilometres as the break blew to pieces. With Lucas now tied for sixth, only 12 seconds back of Tejay, he is in great position to crack a podium spot.”

On Wednesday the peloton tackles the longest stage of the USA Pro Challenge, which covers 210 kilometres from Gunnison to Aspen, and includes nearly 4,000 metres of climbing, including the famed Independence Pass.